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Elements and Performance Criteria

1. Develop an environmental management system
   • Select an appropriate environmental management system as a model for the enterprise/plant
   • Develop environmental management policies that reflect the organisation's commitment to environmental sustainability as an integral part of business planning and as a business opportunity
   • Develop strategies to encourage all stakeholders to meet high standards of environmental performance and support sustainable innovation and continuous improvement
   • Develop policies and procedures to incorporate and support triple bottom line principles
   • Develop policies/procedures which minimise environmental impacts
   • Check policies conform to current regulatory requirements
   • Address environmental management at the planning, design and evaluation stages to ensure that any changes in the workplace are identified for ongoing impact and opportunity
2. Manage innovation and improvement
   • Identify, evaluate and take into consideration changing trends and opportunities relevant to the organisation for ongoing improvement programs
   • Promote continuous improvement and sustainable innovation as an essential part of doing business and as a context for assessment and planning of environmental performance
   • Develop continuous improvement and innovation policies and procedures that include training and professional development to optimise the environmental performance of the organisation
   • Develop a system to analyse and communicate the costs and benefits of innovations and improvements and to measure, monitor and record environmental performance
   • Develop performance benchmarks and indicators and set targets to maximise continuous improvement
3. Review environmental management system
   • Develop processes to ensure that an integrated ongoing review is part of the organisation policy and procedures
   • Promote improvement and sustainable innovation to organisational performance by ongoing evaluation and assessment, and changes to policies

Range Statement

This field allows for different work environments and conditions that may affect performance. Essential operating conditions that may be present (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) are included.
Regulatory framework	The latest version of all legislation, regulations, industry codes of practice and Australian/international standards, or the version specified by the local regulatory authority, must be used, and include one or more of the following: relevant Commonwealth and state/territory Environment Acts applicable state/territory environmental regulations licences and permit conditions industry codes of practice and guidelines Australian and other standards environmental treaties and conventions national environmental policies, strategies and initiatives, such as the National Greenhouse Strategy and National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development National Pollutant Inventory State of the Environment Reports Industry Association Commitments (e.g. The Global Mining Initiative) health and safety legislation, codes of practice and guidance material legislative requirements, including work health and safety (WHS) environmental regulations and guidelines licence and certification requirements All operations to which this unit applies are subject to stringent health, safety and environment (HSE) requirements, which may be imposed through state/territory or federal legislation, and these must not be compromised at any time. Where there is an apparent conflict between performance criteria and HSE requirements, the HSE requirements take precedence.
Procedures	All operations must be performed in accordance with relevant procedures. Procedures are written, verbal, visual, computer-based or in some other form, include one or more of the following: emergency procedures work instructions standard operating procedures (SOPs) safe work method statements (SWMS) formulas/recipes batch sheets temporary instructions any similar instructions provided for the smooth running of the plant
Sources of information	Sources of information include one or more of the following: organisation goals, commitments and procedures (e.g. business/strategic plans, voluntary environmental agreements entered into with external organisations/authorities, and organisation policies and procedures) regulatory framework consultation with internal and external stakeholders own knowledge and experience of plant/process technical/operational documentation schematic (e.g. piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs) and process flow diagrams (PFDs)) available research/data (e.g. industry benchmarking data/systems and sustainability performance measures/metrics)
Performance benchmarks	Performance benchmarks and targets include one or more of the following: best practice or industry codes for the industry/sector levels of performance expected of organisation sectors and/or the organisation as a whole
Stakeholders	Stakeholders include one or more of the following: board members, financial backers and owners all members of the organisation, including management and staff members suppliers contractors others acting on the organisation's behalf customers external individuals or bodies who may have an interest in or may be affected by the organisation
Continuous improvement and innovation policies	Continuous improvement and innovation policies include one or more of the following: consistent reviewing activities in search of a better way improving the organisation in all aspects of its operation and may look at life cycle impacts of the organisation, including: activities and products are designed to minimise life cycle impacts and maximise opportunities tendering and purchasing processes that include life cycle criteria product design and manufacture packaging policies product use and disposal vehicle policies that include use of cleaner fuels or alternative energy sources and regular servicing intervals to reduce pollution and improve efficiency
Environmental sustainability	Environmental sustainability may be influenced by one or more of the following: the organisational culture and operations internal or external economic climate political climate market focus/considerations environmental impacts of the business operation

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Performance Evidence

Evidence required to demonstrate competence in this unit must be relevant to and satisfy the requirements of the elements and performance criteria, and include the ability to:

obtain and analyse information from a range of sources to determine environmental aspects/interactions of plant and/or processes and potential impacts

communicate, consult and negotiate effectively with internal and external stakeholders from a range of social, cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and physical and mental abilities

use problem-solving skills to develop strategies and procedures to deal with identified environmental impacts and opportunities

plan, write and evaluate a system of policies and procedures to implement the strategies and procedures into the organisation.

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Knowledge Evidence

Evidence must be provided that demonstrates sufficient knowledge to interact with relevant personnel and be able to manage the environmental management system, including knowledge of:

change management

continuous improvement

policy development, performance benchmarking and indicator development relevant to the organisation's activities

environment sustainability as a 'whole system' approach

implications/application of sustainable development for a business

techniques to measure sustainability/environmental performance in terms of an organisation's impact on the environment and their ability to manage and minimise negative impacts

application of the 'triple bottom line' (TBL) principle as a framework for measuring and reporting corporate performance against economic, social and environmental parameters

management strategies and workplace practices that can be used to minimise or prevent these effects, including:

recycling and reusing

reducing amount of non-renewable resources used

reducing volume and/or concentration/intensity of pollutants made

reducing emissions

improving housekeeping (e.g. using a broom instead of a hose, and using old rags for cleaning instead of toxic cleaners or water)

substituting materials (e.g. replacing toxic solvent-based coatings with water-based ones)

changing processes (e.g. mechanical cleaning, and re-design of products/procedures so that materials are used more efficiently)

tenders for the provision of goods and services that specify environmentally preferred selection criteria

quality systems

supply chain management

relevant system analysis and design principles

organisation business goals and strategic plans

strategies to maximise opportunities

environment impact minimisation strategies

environmental issues, including as relevant to the organisation, water catchments, air/emissions, noise, ecosystems, habitat and waste minimisation

relevant social sustainability issues, including corporate image, staff morale, customer loyalty and community engagement

financial/market issues related to environmental management, including cost reduction, product differentiation/branding and identification of market potential

organisation procedures, including those covering:

environmental management

safety, emergency and hazard control

procurement

duty of care obligations

hierarchy of control.

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